


The Small Things

by LadyofHeart



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Gen, did i proof read, no, probably, should i have, this is so pathetic, what even is this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-14
Updated: 2015-11-14
Packaged: 2018-05-01 14:29:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5209334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyofHeart/pseuds/LadyofHeart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Both Adrien and Chat Noir seem to be a little off, and if there's one thing Marinette hates it's friends who are hurting.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Small Things

Every morning, Marinette had the pleasure of waking up to the bright smiles of her parents and the light voice of Tikki, leaving her in a happy mood. Her home was warm and her bedroom was filled of bright colors, things she loved and represented her. The scent of the bakery wafted around, touching every corner and filling her with a familiar feeling of love and safety. She could then head to school and be greeted by Alya, full of smiles and words to encourage her in her love life. And despite rude words Chloe might have for her through out the day, she could always be reassured by her friends and parents. And nothing about that would ever change. In fact, besides being Ladybug, her biggest struggle in life had been getting Adrien's attention, or at least trying to talk to him.

So she was oblivious, nearly, to how someone else's life could be so vastly different from her warm and sugary world. It had shaped her to be kind, understanding, but strong and confident. Nothing like someone like Chloe, and still more confident then someone like Adrien (but she could hardly tell that). The people around her were lucky indeed.  
On a morning much like any other, Marinette stepped into class with a normal smile and Alya by her side. The sat down at the same time and shared a small laugh. The girl glanced away from her friend to where Adrien usually sat in front of her, but the seat was vacant and class was about to officially start any moment. She tried to get Nino's attention to ask if he knew where Adrien was, but the boy didn't seem keen on turning around to speak to her at the moment. If anything, he seemed to be a little frustrated. She shared a confused look with Alya before slumping back in her seat and watching the teacher begin class.

About fifteen minutes into the normal routine of going over their homework, Adrien arrived. His head was down and his blond hair covered his eyes. He muttered an apology to the teacher who barely noticed his presence before sitting down in his seat. Marinette eyed him for a moment, concern on her face. She didn't know what had made him so dismayed, or late to class, and she wanted to help nearly right away. But what could she do? She didn't know the issue and she always stammered when she came into contact with Adrien. She'd be rendered useless by those pretty green eyes and that kicked puppy look! She thought about Adrien the entire class, but with a more somber note.  
She had a nagging feeling that whatever ache he was feeling now was from his dad. Nino had told her and Alya what he knew about that relationship, and from what it seemed it wasn't an entirely pleasant one. Cold and distant. She could admire Gabriel Agreste for his work all she wanted, it wouldn't excuse the bond he had with his own son. It was hard to imagine a relationship like that. Marinette's dad was kind and fun, warm and close. He cared, he loved her. And she loved him. Gabriel couldn't have been trying to hurt his son, right? Maybe he did care for Adrien. Did Adrien know that? Maybe not knowing that upset him. Or maybe she was wrong. Maybe he didn't care. It was all too much for her mind to handle at the moment, so she tried to ignore such sad thoughts.

At the end of the class she figured she should try to talk to Adrien, but quickly failed when he practically raced out. Alya gave her a sympathetic look and a pat on her shoulder before walking out along with everyone else, leaving Marinette to stand there glumly.

"What's wrong, Marinette?" Tikki's small voice came from her purse, peeking through the gap to speak to her friend.

"Nothing's wrong with me, Tikki. I think something's up with Adrien. He looked so sad and distant today! I didn't even get a chance to speak with him..."

"Oh, poor boy. I wonder what happened?"

"I wonder that too. I'd like to cheer him up." the kwami made a small squeak.

"Why don't you make him something? Sweets, pastries, scarves, anything! Gifts mean the world to people, you know. It might make him feel better." Marinette grinned.

"Good idea, Tikki! I ought to get started on something soon then..."

*****

Marinette hadn't seen Adrien for the rest of the day, and she still felt a pang of sadness over it. Even if she made him a gift, kind words were what he needed most, whatever the issue was. Speaking of the gift, she had to quickly decide what she was going to give him in the first place. She flopped on her bed at home, staring at the ceiling in thought. Tikki was next to her, fast asleep. Food always cheered people up, but maybe she should make Adrien something more permanent? There were plenty of things she could make with her talent, but the options were almost too many. She closed her eyes and continued to ponder, finding herself fast asleep.

When she woke the sun was setting. She sat up with a start, surprised she had napped for so long. Still, no ideas had come to mind. She supposed she could think about it later because at the moment it was time for her to patrol Paris with Chat Noir. She had to admit that she enjoyed this time of day and hanging out with him, even if his flirting did get tiring. Maybe she could ask him what he would get for an upset friend. With his outgoing personality, surely he had many friends? She transformed into Ladybug and quickly left her house, ready for some fresh air.

She didn't spot Chat right away. She had just been walking across a rooftop, getting a good view of things and trying to find her partner, when she spotted his tall black figure some ways from her, staring off into the distance. He didn't seem focused on anything in particular and the far off look was new to her.

"Hey there, Chat." she called, walking up to him. He flinched, caught off guard, and relaxed when he saw it was just her.

"Hello, my Lady." he greeted with his Cheshire grin. She noticed that he still seemed distracted by whatever he had been thinking about earlier, but she didn't question it. They had a patrol to get on. Together, they marched across Paris making idle banter (the usual flirting and snark, that was.) But the entire time, Ladybug couldn't help but notice a sad look in Chat's eyes. He spoke with his normal cheer, but there was something so depressing about the atmosphere he brought.

Upon their patrol, they stumbled across a family of a mother, father and small child who had sadly lost her balloon. Ladybug frowned as she watched tears roll down the child's face and quickly raced after the balloon, grabbing its thin string and leaping down to the child. She handed it to her with a smile on her face.

"You may want to hold onto that a bit more tightly, little bug." she playfully poke the girl's nose who then giggled and thanked her while she retreated back to Chat's side. She caught him glaring at something and she followed his green gaze to see he was staring at the parents of the child who were telling her to be more careful. "Something wrong, Chat?"

"Hmm? Oh, nothing! Let's continue, shall we?" he quickly brushed her off, continuing forward. But she wasn't going to let that glare slip from her mind so easily. As the patrol pulled to a close she found Chat becoming more and more silent.

"I think our patrol's over now, kitty. I've gotta go." she said, stopping in their walk. Chat seemed a little bit upset.

"Of course. I imagine my lady can be rather busy just like myself, but I think I'll continue on a little farther by myself."

"How come? We've pretty much covered everything for today."

"I enjoy the night air. It let's me think." he said with his usual smile. Something felt off about it.

"Anything in particular that you're thinking about? You were thinking pretty hard when I spotted you earlier today. And don't think I didn't spot that glare to those poor parents. What's nagging you?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips. Chat Noir looked away from her with a small shrug.

"Just some personal stuff. I'd hate to worry you with anything so trivial, Ladybug."

"It's not trivial. If there's anyway I can help you than I'd very much like to."

"There isn't much you can do." he looked at the sky were the white moon had risen high. "But..."

"Yes?"

"Who do you usually turn to when you're upset?" Ladybug was caught off guard by the question. She tapped her chin in thought.

"I guess it depends on the severity of the situation. If its something little, something I know I can get over or won't hurt me too bad, I'll go to my friends. But if it really bothers me and I need someone there, then I'd go to my parents. They raised me after all."

"What if you can't go to either? What if you don't really have those options?" his voice was sad and distant, and almost familiar to Ladybug. She couldn't really place it though, so she ignored that.

"There must be someone you can speak to! With your outgoing personality, there's gotta be a friend somewhere to hear you out."

"I-it's not like there isn't! I have a very close friend. It's just... he's made his point very clear on the situation. But I don't think it's going to help me, and even though he's close and I know he wants to help I don't want to burden him with an issue that's been there since day one, you know? And I can't turn to my parents because the issue IS my parents and..." he trailed off, glancing up at Ladybug. She didn't know how to respond to that or how to begin helping. All her life she had her kind parents to look to, and Alya always had her back. Even if Alya couldn't, Marinette was social enough that she could still speak to people like Nino or another classmate. What was it like to be able to turn to no one?  
"I'm sorry that I can't help much Chat, but I do hope you are considering me your friend. I'm always here to listen to what the issue is, as long as it doesn't reveal our identities in anyway. Perhaps... perhaps trying to rearrange the issue with your parents might help? Talking it out with them?" a bitter smile crossed his face followed by a scoff.

"Thanks for helping, Ladybug. Same time tomorrow?" he asked, already trailing away from her. She felt as though she had messed up somehow, unable to really help him in the end. She didn't even get out a goodbye before he disappeared into the night.

****

The next day, Marinette sat expectantly in her seat, watching the empty chair where Adrien would soon sit down. On his desk was a box with warm cookies and sweets, as well as a note she remembered to sign. She was hoping it would do something to cheer him up. After feeling so useless to comfort Chat, this was the least she could do to get another friend's spirits up. Soon enough, Adrien entered the room with the same sad look as yesterday, looking at the box curiously. He opened it up and gently pulled out the letter, muttering under his breath as he read it. Alya was glancing happily between Marinette and Adrien while Marinette was practically on the edge of her seat.

Adrien looked up at her and the sweetest smile crossed his face. He managed to get a small thank you in before the teacher started the class.

Marinette's heart soared.

******

On patrol that afternoon, Ladybug was happy to see that Chat's attitude had brightened a bit.

"Feeling better, kitty cat?" He blushed slightly.

"Yeah... I'm really sorry about last night. I didn't mean to act all serious and depressing like that. Today can be fulled with much more fun, trust me." he grinned, his blond hair blowing in the wind.

"No, I should be sorry. I couldn't help you when you were down, but now I'm determined to. Tell me aaaall about your issue with your parents. I'm gonna help." she sat down expectantly, swinging her legs back and forth. A look of surprise was on Chat's face but he sat down next to her, with a few inches of space in between. Ladybug felt confident she could give some advice to cheer up her friend.

"It's not really about my mother, more like my father." Chat said finally, his hands pulling at his outfit and tail a little bit. "I should be used to it at this point but he can be so cold and distant sometimes... it feels like he's never there at all. I guess I just really wanted to be able to talk to him, like a real family. I was able to do that once upon a time before..." Chat stalled and Ladybug could see that he was tearing up a bit. "Some not so great things happened to me a while ago, and now my father's distant. I guess yesterday it all caught up with me, became too much to handle. I got to school late, snapped at my best friend while texting, and was just generally grumpy over something I should have accepted a long time ago. I can't really fix it no matter what I do now." he inhaled deeply. "I guess it feels like I don't really have a family anymore."

Ladybug frowned and watched him. He couldn't even look her in the eyes at this point. There was pain written on his face and he was swallowing as if he was choking back tears. She quickly wrapped Chat Noir in her arms, hugging him tightly. He didn't move at first, too surprised by the action.

"You dork... I can be your family now. And that best friend you were talking about yesterday? He's your family, too. So don't ever say that. You've got a family now, kitty." there was a moment of silence before Chat hugged her back, crying into her shoulder when they should have been patrolling. But for once, she didn't care about Paris' situation. Instead, she was content to sit there and rub his back, making him feel better or cry even more with simple and comforting words.

Even Paris' heroes needed their time to heal.

**Author's Note:**

> icantbelieveiwrotethisitwassopointlessohwell


End file.
